Redevelopment

Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment

31 Comments

Corner views of the 23-story office building Hilcorp has been planning for the now-rubble-filled site of the former Foley’s (and more recently, Macy’s) retail box on Main St. between Lamar and Dallas surfaced on a few websites last week. The drawings of Ziegler Cooper’s design show a glass-faced structure doing the half-podium trick, blending 7-or-so garage levels into the main tower shape on one side, but letting it stick out on the other. That “other” side faces Main St.; on the Travis St. side (pictured above and in the last rendering below), the hide-a-car floors fit into the building’s northwest-facing curve, which pulls back to make room for a vehicle drop-off driveway loop and a couple of corner plazas. But what’s happening on the rail side?

77002, Downtown, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment

Comments

10/28/13 2:30pm

Comment of the Day: When Townhomes Come to Lindale Park

Lindale Park, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Townhomes

21 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHEN TOWNHOMES COME TO LINDALE PARK “Most of the best appreciation in the Heights is in sections that are already deed restricted for lot size or have adopted the minimum lot size under chapter 42. Lindale is not like Midtown or parts of Montrose that have already been torn apart by non-residential development or have been chopped up with lots of townhomes. It looks more like Oak Forest did ten years ago. And if comps were a deterrent, no one would be replacing 1200 sq. ft. ranch homes in Oak Forest with 3500 sq. ft. custom homes. When a neighborhood gets bought out for town homes, the incentive to maintain the existing housing stock is lost. Your house is only worth what the dirt is worth. A foundation that has $5,000 of repairs to get it level looks just the same as one without after an afternoon with back hoe ripping through it. The result is that the existing neighborhood will go way downhill while the new construction takes over.” [Old School, commenting on Headlines: A Giant Kroger for Kingwood; Inn at the Ballpark Rebranding] Illustration: Lulu

77009, Comments, Lindale Park, Redevelopment, Townhomes

Apartments

10/07/13 12:00pm

A New Mixture of Uses for the Old Spring Branch Med Center

Buying and Selling, Medical Buildings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Retail, Spring Branch

3 Comments

A NEW MIXTURE OF USES FOR THE OLD SPRING BRANCH MED CENTER The proud new owners of the 300,000-sq.-ft. Spring Branch Medical Center say they plan to flip the 18-acre property on Long Point Rd. into a residential and retail development. Investor Bruce Phillips tells the Houston Chronicle that the old medical buildings, most of which were built in the ’80s, might not have to come down to make the change happen and could be repurposed. The purchase was led by BlackSwan, which is also developing with Stream Realty that 25-story office tower near Washington on Waugh and Barnes. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: MAM Jobs Network

77055, Apartments, Buying and Selling, Medical Buildings, Proposed Developments, Retail, Spring-Branch

Demolitions

10/03/13 10:00am

Reliant Park Crews Plan To Begin Astrodome Demolition Next Monday

Houston Landmarks, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Stadiums

23 Comments

Not the whole stadium — not yet, anyway — but Mark Miller, the general manager of Reliant Park, says that all the Astrodome’s exterior features will be knocked down as early as next week. And that appears to include everything that leads right up to the Dome’s walls: Not just the ticket booths that appeared Wednesday in the Daily Demolition Report, but also the concrete stairs, ramps, grass berms, substations, and transmission lines that you can see in the photo above.

77054, Astrodome, Demolitions, Houston Landmarks, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Renovations, Vacant Buildings

Apartments

09/23/13 11:05am

A First Look at the Strip Center-and-Apartments Combo That Could Go Up Between UH and TSU

Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail, Strip Centers, Third Ward, TSU, University of Houston

44 Comments

Here’s a plan that looks to plug in to Metro’s still-under-construction Southeast Line and redo about 8 blocks along Scott St. in the Third Ward between UH and TSU. Though the plan, drawn up by LAI Design Group and dubbed “University Place Redevelopment,” is provisional, it appears to have in mind something like what the rendering above shows: A reshaped streetscape on Scott St. that would combine apartments, restaurants, shops, offices, and community buildings.

The first phase appears to call for a strip center facing Scott between Holman and Reeves, withÂ 289 1- and 2-bedroom apartmentsÂ and a parking garage in the rear:

77204, Apartments, Light-Rail, Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Stadiums, Strip Centers, Third Ward, TSU, University of Houston

Redevelopment

09/17/13 5:00pm

Bar Takes Old Guadalajara Spot on Washington

Renovations, Restaurants, Washington Ave, Washington Corridor

6 Comments

A reader has spotted some signs hanging on the fence outside 4003 Washington near Leverkuhn, where the Guadalajara Bakery used to be: The slick one in the photo above for La Roux, and another just a few feet away indicating that La Roux has applied to sell alcohol. County records show that the 1930 4,368-sq.-ft. building at 4003 Washington and 2 nearby vacant lots — the 5,100-sq.-ft. one at 4011 Washington, and the 28,045-sq.-ft. one at 4015 Washington — are all owned by ~~Kaplan~~ Kalan Properties.

77007, Bars, Nightlife, Redevelopment, Renovations, Washington Ave.

Development Strategies

09/13/13 2:30pm

Mayor Parker’s Downtown Retail Task Force Suggests Developing Lots of Retail Downtown

Downtown, Hotels, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping, Shopping Centers, Streetscapes

67 Comments

That retail task force that Mayor Parker put together about the same time that Macy’s announced it was closing the Downtown store came through with its first report yesterday, recommending that Dallas St. between Milam and La Branch — or between the hotels on the west side of Downtown and the hotels, Discovery Green, and George R. Brown Convention Center on the east — be prettied up into a kind of retailÂ promenade. And the task force recommends that it happen sooner rather than later, in time to capitalize on the disposable incomes of the hordes coming to town for the NCAA Final Four in 2016 and the Super Bowl in 2017.

The rendering above, included in the report, shows a Kardashian body double strolling through the intersection of Main St. and Dallas; the Sakowitz building, ~~catty-corner~~ across from the to-be-demolished-in-a-week Macy’s, would pair with GreenStreet to anchor the linear district and provide similar photo opportunities. It appears that the task force hopes to lure national retailers and rally existing tenants and landowers, like Hilcorp, to the cause with tax breaks and other incentives, including waiving the city ordinance requiring that signage Downtown be no taller than 42.5 ft.

77002, Development Strategies, Downtown, Hotels, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping, Shopping Centers, Streetscapes

Demolitions

07/26/13 10:00am

Crushing an Old One for 4 New Ones on a Museum Park Corner

Museum Park, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Townhomes

19 Comments

Yeah, this old one is a goner: A rep from the city says that a variance application to reduce the building setback has been approved for this corner in Museum Park, making just enough room on the 8,100-sq.-ft. lot at Jackson and Blodgett soÂ 4 townhomes can squeeze on in. The peach-trimmed, converted-into-apartments building at 1702 Blodgett St., catty-corner from the art gallery that opened in the strip center, was in theÂ Daily Demolition Report this morning. County records show that the doomed 4,220-sq.-ft. building dates to 1935.

77004, Demolitions, Museum Park, Proposed Developments, Townhomes

Commercial Real Estate

07/25/13 4:05pm

Some Real-Life Occupants for Galveston’s Long-Abandoned Brewery?

Galveston, Galveston, Industrial Properties, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Toxic Sites

13 Comments

SOME REAL-LIFE OCCUPANTS FOR GALVESTON’S LONG-ABANDONED BREWERY? The endangered historic Falstaff Brewery that once harbored a bunch of scared architecture students in a horror flick might become a real refuge for Galvestonians looking for cheap housing — or so Culturemap’s Tyler Rudick seems to think, divining a hint about Dallas developer Matthews Southwest’s plans for the property from the very title of the rep he interviews: “Company officials are unable to reveal the full details until a purchase is finalized,” cautions Rudick. “But [we] spoke with current project leader Scott Galbraith, whose position as Matthews Southwest’s vice president of affordable income development suggests the company’s larger plans for the complex.” Perhaps, but Galbraith is also quick to point out that Matthews Southwest is keeping its options open while studying the site; previous environmental investigations have found plenty ofÂ asbestos in the 313,000-sq.-ft. building and soil contamination around it. [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Candace Garcia

77552, Commercial Real Estate, Galveston, Industrial Properties, Redevelopment, Toxic Sites, Vacant Buildings

Commercial Real Estate

07/12/13 3:00pm

Richmond Strip Not Down for the Count?

Nightlife, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Richmond Strip, Strip Centers

5 Comments

RICHMOND STRIP NOT DOWN FOR THE COUNT? Real estate reporter Shaina Zucker cruises Richmond Ave., tallying up the evidence that she suggests might just point to a resurgence of that once-lively strip between Hillcroft and Chimney Rock: “30 — The number of For Lease signs visible; 4 — The number of For Sale signs visible; 6 — The number of empty lots visible; 5 — Number of active adult entertainment locations (strip clubs, novelty stores, etc.); 8 — Number of other active clubs/bars facing Richmond; 6 — Number of open fast-food locations; 20 — Number of auto sales/retailer locations; 3 — Number of active construction projects; 35,127 — Richmond at Fountain View average daily traffic volume by number of vehicles; 33,720 — Richmond at Chimney Rock average daily traffic volume by number of vehicles.” [Houston Business Journal] Photo of La Bare at 6234 Richmond: City Data

77057, Commercial Real Estate, Redevelopment, Retail Vacancies, Richmond Strip

Houston Landmarks

06/13/13 11:15am

Hatching Baby Businesses at the Astrodome

Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Stadiums

5 Comments

HATCHING BABY BUSINESSES AT THE ASTRODOME One of those 19 private bids that the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation didn’t quite get around to asking for and yet still received just in time for Monday’s deadline comes from entrepreneur Tim Trae Tindall, who suggests that the Astrodome might be the perfect environment to trap heat — so to speak — as a business incubator: Click2Houston’s Gianna Caserta reports that Tindall’s bid for this “one-stop shop location” would provide “consultants, restaurants, investors, IT support, and office space. There would even be an extended-stay area for visitors to have accommodations while scoping out the Houston business climate.” (Having investors there on the spot? Now that beats cold calling.) Tindall, who says he’s trying to raise the money to fund the project, seems to think that a fledgling business would be drawn almost naturally to the decaying Dome: “What we intend to do is seize upon the notoriety of Houston’s greatest landmark.” [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

77054, Astrodome, Harris County Government, Houston Landmarks, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Redevelopment

Comments

05/14/13 1:45pm

Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Bogarting the Astrodome

Public Buildings, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Reliant Park

7 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: BOGARTING THE ASTRODOME “The only roadblock to redevelopment of the Dome, as I see it, are two self-interested organizations that are afforded an unwarranted and undeserved say in the matter.” [TheNiche, commenting on Headlines: Itemizing Astrodome Tax Expenses; El Tiempo Cantina Heading South]

77054, Astrodome, Comments, Houston-Texans, Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Rodeo

Apartments

05/10/13 1:00pm

Comment of the Day: An Atmosphere of Mistrust

Comments, Development Stategies, Museum District, Quicklink, Redevelopment

13 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: AN ATMOSPHERE OF MISTRUST “Iâ€™m inclined to believe the owner on this one. Who knows better what Sharifi plans to do with the property, than Sharifi himself? Itâ€™s not just that he said there were no immediate plans to develop the property â€“ how many times have we heard that one — itâ€™s the good brick award and the quip about townhomes that does it — for me at least. The real story here is the level of mistrust that exists between the public and the building community (developers but also architects, engineers, and contractors). Itâ€™s a nationwide phenomenon thatâ€™s especially strong here in Houston. Thereâ€™s a common misconception that our lack of zoning leaves us more vulnerable. Weâ€™ve suffered a lot of bad development since the 1960s. It has made us paranoid. And with affordable garden apartments Inside the Loop falling one-by-one to luxury mid rises, itâ€™s understandable that people in complexes like the Gramercy Place Apartments would be especially paranoid.” [ZAW, commenting on The Confusing Continuing Story of the Gramercy Place Apartments]

77006, Apartments, Comments, Development Strategies, Museum District, Redevelopment

Houston Landmarks

04/18/13 2:50pm

Astrodome Stewards Announce Deadline for Redevelopment Proposals — Without Requesting Any

Public Buildings, Redevelopment, Reliant Park

16 Comments

The Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation this week approved a June 10th deadline for all private proposals to redevelop the Astrodome. That’s a notable event not only because of the somewhat hurried timeframe, but also because the organization appears to have left out a possibly minor step: Formally requesting private proposals to redevelop the Astrodome in the first place.

If that sounds a little odd to you, rest assured this sort of oversight is entirely within character for theÂ 13-year-old quasi-governmental body, whose major achievement has been to shepherd Houston’s most famous building on a steady path from viable sports, entertainment, and celebrity ball-shagging venue to decaying, moldy relic.Â Hasn’t the corporation been soliciting plans all this time?